Tag Archives: finishing

Some years ago now, I wrote about self doubt this way: “The Valley of Shit is that period of your PhD, however brief, when you lose perspective and therefore confidence and belief in yourself. There are a few signs you are entering into the Valley of Shit. You can start to think your whole project […]

This post is by Lara Skelly, who graduated about a year ago now I graduated with a doctorate in April this year. “It must feel fantastic”, people say, “you must feel so free”, and “what’s next?” Here’s the thing though: it doesn’t, and I have no idea what to do next. I’ve had a different […]

This post is by a British post doc working in Scandinavia on European Studies. In the weeks and months leading up to the submission of my PhD, I found myself imagining what life would be like on the ’other side’. As a means of forcing myself over the final hurdle, I visualised how amazing it would […]

Family Thesiswhisperer has spent the last month in our hometown of Melbourne. We caught up with many friends and relatives while we were there, some of whom are doing or have just completed doctorates. One friend got pregnant twice during her doctorate and had a longer journey than most. While we raised a glass to […]

This post is written by Brian Flemming, a mathematician working as a Systems Engineer in Edinburgh. He has recently completed an Engineering Doctorate (EngD) as a mature student at Heriot Watt University, which he found an intensive and enjoyable experience, and which he credits with greatly increasing the effectiveness and authority of his work. He […]

What happens after you graduate? Some people tell me they feel like they have just run off the end of a cliff they never saw coming. That final sprint to the end and the immediate aftermath can be confronting. In this post Dr Lauren McGrow,full-time feminist academic, part-time poet and casual caver, has some advice […]

This piece was written by Ben from the Literature Review HQ. Ben describes his blog as a “Literature review how to – from beginning to end”. In this post Ben reflects on his own PhD journey now he has some distance from it. You can find a permanent link to the Lit Review HQ on […]

Last time we met my friend, PhD student and working academic ‘Dave’ he was walking through the Valley of Shit. Dave emerged from the deathly valley soon after I published that post, but he has now hit the last phase of PhD study, which I call “PhD detachment”. Dave, somewhat more colourfully, calls this phase “Screw you thesis!”. He tells us why in this post, but caution – there’s some strong language!

My professional life is endless blog fodder. I imagine it’s kind of annoying to be friends with me if you are doing your PhD because sooner or later you are going to Get Whispered. What you thought was a casual conversation over coffee and a muffin will be turned into a blog post while you weren’t looking.

There is so much you can achieve with your life when all you do is work full time. I’d forgotten what it was like, not to feel guilty and scared all the time. Compared to a thesis, forty hours a week is a laughably small sum of hours to be spending on work.

The Thesis Whisperer is edited by Dr Inger Mewburn, director of research training at The Australian National University. The Thesis Whisperer has contributors from around the world. Read our about page if you are interested in writing for us.